Best of the Worst: The Unfortunate Tale of the 2008 World Series Umpires

If a professional umpire gets asked to officiate the World Series, it's clear they are one of the best the league has to offer.

In the 2008 World Series, I'm clearly rooting for the Phillies. I have been a diehard fan ever since I was a little kid. I still remember sitting at my neighbor's house when Joe Carter hit a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays.

I would be the happiest person alive if the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, and I'm sure there are thousands of fans back home who feel the same way. The city has been waiting for a major sports championship for over 25 years. There have been too many seasons where it seemed like the Eagles were finally going to win the Super Bowl or the Flyers were one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

Every time, the hype led to heartbreak.

As I am writing this article, the Phillies have a 5-1 lead on the Rays in the bottom of the fourth. Ryan Howard just hit a three-run shot to left field, and I'm in the best mood in the world.

A few hours from now, I may feel a burst of excitement if the Phillies end up winning and put the pressure of elimination on the Rays for Game Five tomorrow night.

I could also be frustrated if the Rays end up winning the game and tie up the series.

No matter what the outcome of the World Series is, there is one thing that is going to bother me until I decide to get over the topic.

In my opinion, the officiating in the World Series has been horrendous this year. There have been calls, both for the Phillies and the Rays, that should never have happened.

For the record, I understand how hard it is to officiate a game. I used to officiate fourth grade basketball in high school. Parents would constantly yell at my ear no matter what calls I made.

There are always going to be people who are happy with the calls umpires make. There are always going to be people who are angry with the calls umpires make.

The way I see it, the chance to be an umpire in the 2008 World Series is the opportunity of a lifetime. This year's crew chief is Tim Welke, who has 25 years of experience as an umpire. His crew includes Kerwin Danley, Fieldin Culbreth, Tom Hallion, Jeff Kellogg, and Tim Tschida.

These six individuals were obviously asked to be part of this years World Series because they are some of the best in the league. So why have they made such awful calls these first couple of games?

In Game Two, there was a controversial call by home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley on a full-count for Rocco Baldelli.

It appeared Baldelli swung at the next pitch by Myers. Danley raised his arm, making it appear that he was calling a strike on Baldelli for the out.

After making the call of the appeared strike, Danley then pointed over to the first base umpire to check if Baldelli swung or not. The first plate umpire said there was no swing, and Baldelli was awarded a free trip to first base.

After this controversial call, Joe Buck mentioned a great point about major-league rules, stating that once a call is made, it cannot be changed. When we view the replay, it's obvious that Danley called a strike on Baldelli before changing the call.

Rule 9.02- The Umpire

a. Any umpire's decision which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out, is final. No player, manager, coach or substitute shall object to any such judgment decisions.

The main word in that paragraph: FINAL. Danley broke one of the major rules for an umpire. It appears he makes a call of a strike and it gets changed to a ball.

In the top of the ninth, Price threw a pitch at Jimmy Rollins that barely touched his jersey. Instead of taking first base, Danley claimed Rollins was not hit by the pitch. How could Danley have missed this when he is literally standing right behind Rollins?

In the first inning of Game Four, there was another controversial call that ended up resulting in a run being scored for the Phillies.

With Rollins on third, Ryan Howard hit a groundball to Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine. With one out and a runner on first, most players would attempt to get a double play to end the inning.

Instead, Sonnanstine decided to try and get Rollins out as he was attempting to run home. As soon as Rollins saw Sonnanstine come after him, he started running back to third base.

I'm a Phillies fan, and I even thought it was clear that Evan Longoria tagged Rollins out. The replay clearly shows Rollins was out. However, third base umpire Tim Welke claimed Rollins was safe. The Phillies caught a break with this call as Rollins would end up scoring on the next play.

There have been controversial calls throughout the series to benefit both teams. These calls are being made by umpires who do this as a career. Salaries for umpires in the major league range from $84,000 to $300,000 a year.

If they are making that much money to umpire baseball games, they should be able to make the correct calls. Especially if they are one of the umpires in the World Series.

A wrong call could end up costing the Rays or Phillies a costly game. I would hate to see one of these teams miss out on a celebration of a lifetime because of a missed call by umpires who are supposed to be the "best" at what they do.